


Pillowtalk

by dreaminghigher (regencyaus)



Series: tumblr prompts [6]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Canon verse, Fluff, M/M, i just want them to be happy lol, international criminals in love, so much i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 00:11:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14343876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regencyaus/pseuds/dreaminghigher
Summary: "How do you see yourself in 10 years? Like, what do you think you'll be up to?""It's 3am, Eames," Arthur says, but Eames knows he'll play along.For the prompt:“I think I’m in love with you and I’m terrified.”





	Pillowtalk

"How do you see yourself in 10 years? Like, what do you think you'll be up to?" 

"It's 3am, Eames." 

Well. 

It is. 

But honestly, Arthur's being unfair. 

"You weren't sleeping," he accuses. 

"And whose fault is that." 

Eames pauses. "Is this a guessing game? I'm good at those." 

"Yours Eames. You hogged all the covers and woke me up." 

"If you were good at cuddling we wouldn't have this issue." 

"Can you even be bad at- no, never mind. We fixed it now anyway." 

It's true. Arthur is draped all over Eames chest and they are both safely under the covers. 

"Well then. Perfect timing." 

"For sleeping?" 

"For late night existential crisis." 

Arthur sighs against his chest, but he's mostly amused. Eames knows he'll play along. 

"What do _you_ think you'll be up to?" Arthur sends back. It's a good question. 

"Well, I'll still be my gorgeous self," he starts, and feels Arthur's laughter tickiling his skin. "Maybe a few more tattoos." 

"I approve that." Arthur says, and traces the one closest to him, on Eames' chest, just light fingertips sending goosebumps across his skin. Eames brings up a hand to Arthur's hair in encouragement. 

"What else?" Arthur asks, and Eames actually stops to consider it this time. 

"A different job. Something with health insurance."

Arthur hums, clearly amused. "Uh huh." 

"No, I mean that." Eames says. "Maybe not really 9 to 5 but, you know. Not illegal." 

"Seriously?" 

"Yeah." 

Arthur glances up and considers him. 

"I thought you loved this," Arthur says at last, leaning his chin on Eames' chest. "The fogery, the felonies, the adventure. The thrill of getting away with it."

Eames looks away for a moment, feeling strangely vulnerable. 

"I did. I do, really." He says, hand combing through Arthur's hair. "It's just- I'm tired of people pointing guns at me? Of being scared to death about everyone I give a fuck about, and I just- I don't think I'll do this forever?" 

He doesn't think he's explaining this right, but Arthur seems to understand. Arthur always seems to understand, these days, to know Eames better than Eames does himself. It's a worrying pattern.  

"Do you ever regret it?" Arthur asks, after a few moments of silence. "Getting tangled up in this?" 

Eames keeps combing the hairs under his hand, the motion as soothing as it is a good distraction. 

"No." He answers finally. "If I hadn't been a forger I wouldn't have done some _amazing_ things, I woldn't have met-"  _you,_  he thinks. "...some amazing people." 

He sighs.  

"I wouldn't have known just quite what I was capable of. It's just, I think of myself in ten years and imagine some more- I don't know. Stability, I suppose." 

"Yeah?" Arthur says, face not quite betraying his thoughts on the matter.  

Eames feels on thin ice here, doesn't know where Arthur would stand on any of this. Doesn't know if stopping the jobs would mean stopping the rushed encounters between the jobs, the lazy almost mornings, the traded kisses, the promise of safety amd temporary home. Eames has come to depend on this more than he should. Way more than he'd like to admit. For a moment, he feels unsure, and inexplicably shy. 

"Yeah." He says, finally. "Maybe a dog. Maybe being home enough not to starve the dog." 

Arthur smiles. "Sounds like a nice start." 

"It does, doesn't it." 

Arthur is silent again, puzzling over something. Eames waits him out. 

"I never thought of you as- someone who would want that, honestly. I guess that's why I never brought up anything like that before," Arthur starts, carefully. "Being home for the dog sounds irrevocably domestic."

"Maybe I'd do well with irrevocably domestic," Eames says, and knows that's not quite what he means, but it's close enough.

The thing about it is that the two of them never really talk about what they have together. It's good, it's safe, and it's simple. One of them just gives the other a look, a touch, pulls them by the hand and that's it. They don't have to talk about it. But somewhere along the way Arthur became a fixture point in his life and he's just. He's not ready to let this go. Fuck. 

"Is the dog negotiable?" Arthur asks, completely obvious to Eames' inner turmoil. 

"...what?"  

"The dog. I always liked cats better." 

"Dogs are faithful companions," Eames says, not sure what's going on here. 

""Cats are prettier. And they're faithful companions too, they're just not _needy_ ," Arthur says, like that's literally the only flaw he could see with the plan. Eames needs to hold back a smile. 

"Of course you'd like cats," Eames says, fake exasperated. Arthur falls for it. 

"What's _that_  supposed to mean?" 

"It means they're assholes, like you." Arthur is outraged. 

"They're  _smart_. And elegant. And on the right side of posh." 

"And you know all about smart and elegant and posh." 

"Well, yeah. I do. You know, wearing socks that match and a tie every once in a while doesn't kill you." 

"Oh darling, I believe you. But it's so dreadfully boring." 

"Shut up." Arthur gives him a calculating look. "It'd look good on you," he decides, finally, and Eames grins. 

"You just want an excuse to play dress up, don't you? Me and a three-piece suit, I see your game." 

"Yes." Arthur says, completely deadpan. "You found out my evil plan." 

Eames hums. "I'll let you if you promise to take it off of me later." 

"Deal." 

Arthur smiles. Eames knows, knows that's the moment to drop it but he can't. He wants to know. 

"You didn't really answer it back then," Eames starts, in spite of his best instincts.

"What I'll be up to in ten years? I never really thought about it. I don't care all that much, I suppose. Like, if I'll have found a legal job, or retired, or started my own business, or gotten arrested, or left town altogether for a cabin in the woods, you know? They all seem just as likely, to be honest, with the lives we lead. But if it's something you're really concerned about you should think about this more carefully over the next months. Not make any rushed decisions. When you're really ready to retire from dreamsharing we can find something else to do. We have more than enough money. We have more than enough enemies too, but if we do this right there's no reason for them to find us. I'll compile a list of potential threats and in the next months we can go about dodging or eliminating each one until you can be sure that your future dog would be safe." And Arthur needs to pause to yawn, because he's clearly exhausted, but he still gives a little encouraging smile. "Don't worry so much about it, okay? We'll be fine." 

Eames is so fucking overwhelmed he can barely breathe. Fucking stubborn, beautiful Arthur who's always ten steps ahead of everything. Why had Eames ever thought that it'd escaped Arthur's notice how fucking it they are, how they're in this for fucking life. Eames says he wants to get out and all Arthur worries about is planning and eliminating threats. 

Eames just looks at him for a moment, thinks, 'I'm fucked.' 

Thinks, 'I think I’m in love with you and I’m terrified.' 

And then he takes a deep breath, and pulls a little on the hairs between his fingers. 

"It can be a cat. I don't mind." 

"Oh, thank god," Arthur says, leaning up to kiss him, smiling lazily and making himself comfortable. "Now hush, I need to sleep." 

Eames lies awake in the dark for a while longer, feeling the soft rise of fall of the sleeping man next to him, but he thinks it's gonna be alright. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr @[dreaminghigher](https://dreaminghigher.tumblr.com)


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